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ChatGPT vs Google: Who Gets Recommended for Local Services

We asked ChatGPT and Google the same question for dentists and personal injury lawyers in 20 US metros: who is the best? They mostly disagreed. Original data, collected 2026-09-16.

Side-by-side comparison of AI assistant recommendations and Google map results

Key findings

  • 80%

    of the 213 businesses ChatGPT named were not on Google's first page (map pack or top 10)

  • 15%

    of ChatGPT's named picks were also in Google's top-3 map pack

  • 5%

    median review count ChatGPT displayed, as a share of the same business's Google count (62 matched businesses)

  • 100%

    of ChatGPT answers cited a directory, publication or professional body

  • Google's map pack carried over better for lawyers than dentists: 72% of the injury-law firms in Google's top 3 appeared somewhere in ChatGPT's answer, against 38% for dental practices.
  • ChatGPT attached a list of local businesses to 88% of answers, averaging 11.9 businesses, far more than Google's three map-pack slots.
  • 13% of businesses in ChatGPT's lists showed a rating below 4.0. None of Google's map-pack businesses did (0%).
  • On Google itself, 56% of first-page organic results were directories, review sites or publications rather than practices.

What ChatGPT cites

Sources linked in ChatGPT's written answers, counted once per query. Out of 20 queries per profession.

Personal injury lawyers

  1. forbes.com10 of 20
  2. justia.com9 of 20
  3. expertise.com7 of 20
  4. profiles.superlawyers.com4 of 20
  5. texasbar.com3 of 20
  6. avvo.com3 of 20
  7. bestlawyers.com3 of 20
  8. tbls.org2 of 20

Dentists

  1. reviews.birdeye.com8 of 20
  2. findadentist.ada.org6 of 20
  3. healthgrades.com5 of 20
  4. doctor.webmd.com4 of 20
  5. dental.me3 of 20
  6. yably.com2 of 20
  7. zocdoc.com2 of 20
  8. realself.com1 of 20

BrightLocal's November 2024 study found business websites made up most ChatGPT Search sources for local queries. That study counted the first ten sources across many service categories. We counted only the sources ChatGPT linked in its written answer to a "best in city" question, which is where rankings, directories and publications show up. The two measures answer different questions.

Results by city

"Map pack in ChatGPT" is how many of Google's top-3 map businesses appeared anywhere in ChatGPT's answer. "Picks on Google page 1" is how many businesses ChatGPT named in its written answer also appeared in Google's map pack or top 10.

Per-city comparison of ChatGPT and Google local results
CitySearchMap pack in ChatGPTChatGPT picks on Google page 1Directories in Google top 10
Atlanta, GADentist1 of 31 of 54
Austin, TXDentist2 of 31 of 65
Charlotte, NCDentist0 of 31 of 54
Chicago, ILDentist2 of 31 of 65
Columbus, OHDentist1 of 31 of 65
Dallas, TXDentist0 of 32 of 45
Denver, CODentist2 of 31 of 54
Houston, TXDentist1 of 30 of 57
Indianapolis, INDentist1 of 3No picks named5
Jacksonville, FLDentist2 of 31 of 54
Los Angeles, CADentist1 of 31 of 98
Miami, FLDentist2 of 31 of 56
Minneapolis, MNDentist2 of 31 of 54
Nashville, TNDentist2 of 33 of 53
New York, NYDentist0 of 30 of 56
Philadelphia, PADentist1 of 32 of 66
Phoenix, AZDentist0 of 3No picks named7
San Antonio, TXDentist0 of 30 of 64
San Diego, CADentist1 of 30 of 58
Seattle, WADentist2 of 32 of 85
Atlanta, GAPersonal injury lawyer0 of 30 of 45
Austin, TXPersonal injury lawyer3 of 30 of 64
Charlotte, NCPersonal injury lawyer3 of 33 of 93
Chicago, ILPersonal injury lawyer1 of 30 of 53
Columbus, OHPersonal injury lawyer2 of 32 of 84
Dallas, TXPersonal injury lawyer3 of 31 of 74
Denver, COPersonal injury lawyer2 of 31 of 65
Houston, TXPersonal injury lawyer1 of 30 of 63
Indianapolis, INPersonal injury lawyer2 of 32 of 64
Jacksonville, FLPersonal injury lawyer3 of 31 of 54
Los Angeles, CAPersonal injury lawyer1 of 30 of 66
Miami, FLPersonal injury lawyer2 of 30 of 26
Minneapolis, MNPersonal injury lawyer3 of 32 of 34
Nashville, TNPersonal injury lawyer3 of 33 of 63
New York, NYPersonal injury lawyer1 of 31 of 64
Philadelphia, PAPersonal injury lawyer2 of 32 of 65
Phoenix, AZPersonal injury lawyer3 of 31 of 44
San Antonio, TXPersonal injury lawyer2 of 30 of 53
San Diego, CAPersonal injury lawyer3 of 32 of 65
Seattle, WAPersonal injury lawyer3 of 32 of 64

What this means for a practice

Treat AI visibility as its own channel. Most of the businesses ChatGPT recommended were not the ones winning Google. A strong map-pack position is not a proxy for being named by an assistant.

Get listed where assistants read. The recurring sources were directories and publications: Forbes Advisor and Justia for law firms, Birdeye, Healthgrades and the ADA directory for dentists. Complete, consistent profiles on those sites are the most direct lever this data points to.

Check your reviews beyond Google. ChatGPT's business cards showed a fraction of the Google review count for the same practices, so review volume elsewhere matters.

Want to see where your practice stands? Try the free AI search visibility checker, or read how we approach AI SEO.

Methodology

  • Date: all queries collected 2026-09-16, through DataForSEO.
  • Metros: the 20 US cities listed above. Professions: dentists and personal injury lawyers. 40 query pairs in total.
  • ChatGPT: prompt “best dentist in City, ST” or “best personal injury lawyer in City, ST”, web search on, US location.
  • Google: desktop search for “best dentist” or “best personal injury lawyer” with the location set to the city. First-page map pack and top-10 organic results.
  • “Named picks” are businesses ChatGPT linked or bolded in its written answer, not the longer business list it attaches.
  • Same business when website domains match (www. stripped); if either lacks a domain, when normalized names are equal or one contains the other (min 8 characters).
  • Directories include review platforms, rankings, publications, bar associations and forums, by a published domain list.
  • Limits: AI answers vary between runs and users. This is one snapshot per query, not an average of repeated runs. Google results were collected from a single location per city.

Frequently asked questions

Cite this research

Space Agency. “ChatGPT vs Google: Who Gets Recommended for Local Services.” Published 2026-09-16. https://www.spaceagency.online/research/chatgpt-vs-google-local-results/

Journalists and researchers may use any figure on this page with a link to this URL. The underlying data is available on request.